Intaglio
by LowDesert
Summary: In the heart of the desert, the forces of Time will converge: Human and Elemental and Transient. What happens next depends on the choices all of them will make. Third and final story to the Insurgency-Irruption arc.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Night in the Mojave Desert.

The Mojave is a vast desert that stretches from California into Nevada, extending as far south as Arizona. It is only a few hours automobile drive from the glittering coasts of Santa Monica and the towering skyline of Los Angeles, yet the further one drives east from those sprawled, congested freeways and polyglot communities, the more one gradually loses a sense of where one is, in time and space. You depart from one of the most richest, advanced populations of the earth, and enter into a land that is primeval and timeless.

Yes, timeless is the word, thought Jarrod Harnester, standing at the entrance of the abandoned homestead. Well, not quite so abandoned now, as he had moved in and made it un-abandoned. It was abandoned in the sense that the people who once lived here were no longer around, left no forwarding address, had in fact left nothing but the shells of what was once a modest, 3-room house, an outbuilding, a shed. The well was still working, and produced water. Two windmills were left standing, one half toppled over into the dust. The other still moved according to the wind, creaking eerily. Jarrod had no idea if a family lived here, or a single "desert rat," a solitary desert dweller. There was many such places and transient people scattered across this desert, he knew. Perhaps it had been built by those who imagined an idyllic and rural retreat, and were confounded by the heat and remoteness and the sheer silence of the place, with no one around for miles. You were lucky if you could get any bars on your cellphone, and even then, if you had to call for help in an emergency, it would take an hour at least for anyone to respond.

Perfect. Just what he wanted.

Jarrod had rigged a generator up and so had electricity in the concrete shell, which passed for a dwelling, although possessed only a small lamp for the eveings. A week ago, when he had arrived here with his truck and his trailer, there had been nothing inside. The previous owner (or vandals) had stripped the place of everything valuable, all the wiring and anything that could be easily carted off. All that had been left were the shards of broken beer bottles, a few tattered magazines (porn, of course), and bits and flakes of concrete and drywall. But now all that was gone.

In its place was something that would have made the cast of "American Pickers" salivate. Posters of movies from the 1980s (_The Terminator, Blade Runner, The Dark Crystal_) covered the pocked walls. The few bits of furniture which gave the place a touch of home were only those ugly orange-and-green plastic monstrosities which had been considered quite fashionable…in 1974. Against one wall, a table held a functioning HAM radio setup, and a tape cassette recorder. Stacks of cassette tapes were piled next to it. The most modern item was the futon bed placed against the opposite wall, but the sheets were no older than the 90s. At least they were clean. Interspersed among all these were all kinds of stuff. Foxed books with war reports from the European Theater. Photoplay journals of Hollywood starlets long dead and forgotten. Toys from the 1930s through the 1960s, including rare comics that some fanboys would joyfully kill their mothers for. A stack of old vinyl records, and a record player with needle to play them on (Jarrod was not a fan of 60s music, but did enjoy some Beach Boys). Older than all of them, in a special wooden bookcase, some extremely heavy leatherbound books printed when Voltaire was young. In the other rooms were collections of similarly ancient and useless items.

Except for the discerning collector of antiques or "retro", none of the stuff in these rooms was particularly desirable, or even especially valuable. However, the lack of consistency could seem puzzling. To the owner of this motley collection, however, this was exactly the point and purpose. He had spent a lot of money, and time, and searching, to collect all these things, these _old_ things, and bring them out here to the middle of nowhere.

The middle of nowhere, and yet, Jarrod mused, possibly the epicenter of everywhere…and everywhen.

Jarrod sat down at the desk with the tape cassette recorder, with its old fashioned cigar-sized microphone attached. He unwrapped a fresh cassette tape, and popped it in the machine, pushing it in with a satisfying loud _chunk_. It ran on batteries. He had plenty of both: cassettes and double AAs. Cheap nowadays.

He picked up the mike, then lowered it. He decided to have a smoke as he talked. Somehow, it seemed fitting, though it was a bad habit, itself soon to become as outdated as any of the things in this room. There was no mirror in the room, but he imagined how he must look, a man in his late 30s, dark-haired, wearing an old-fashioned white cotton undershirt called a "wifebeater" (what a name!) and ancient Levis. The latter, when it was new, had sold for under $20. He had paid no less than $1700 for this particular garment in its well-worn state. The cigarettes too were an old brand you rarely saw these days: Pall Malls.

As soon as he had lit up, and took a leisurely drag, he pulled the microphone to him and pushed REC.

"August 15," he began calmly, "another uneventful night. Tomorrow I may go into town for some more groceries. Maybe even see if I can score an old Frigidaire. Saw a couple of jackrabbits running by. Tons of jackrabbits around here. Not sure if they are worth eating…or if it's legal to eat them, either. Not that I'm in any danger of starving. Although it might be more exciting if I was."

Jarrod abruptly hit STOP, paused, and then hit REW. He would start over. Time to stop beating about the bush.

"August 15," he began again. "Perhaps I should explain what I am doing out here with this heap of junk in the middle of the desert. If something should happen to me, you may deduce I had a "hoarding" problem. Or…that may sound more sane than what I am about to relate to you now."

Another drag.

"No need for names or places. Protect the innocent, of course. Not that there are that many these days around here. But…you may have to get off your butt and do some work if you want intimate details. Let's just say it began, oh, 5 or so years ago. I was still married then, although it was pretty evident even then it was the divorce court for us. Total nutcase, what was I thinking. Anyway, I was also still employed. What was my job? I won't reveal that either, but with a graduate degree from Caltech, it was a nice gig for a while. I – the company actually – was on this joint deal with a British firm. A couple of their scientists had come out to the City of Angels – ha!- to liaison with us. One of my "collateral" duties was to wine and dine them. The other employees helped with that too. All guys, so we had a lot of fun without having to worry about being "politically correct." My wife was pissed, but so what? She was pissed about everything, it seemed."

Drag, puff.

"One of their senior scientists, I came to know fairly well, as we were on the same project. A really nice guy, absolutely genius, but a little standoffish from the others. He really wasn't into the Hollywood or club scene. He – let's call him Dr. J – was from some rural part of England, and he said he preferred the outdoors. I offered to take him sightseeing out to Death Valley, Joshua Tree, the national parks, do some hiking, bouldering, that kind of stuff. He was outdoorsy. We got to be good friends doing all that. I learned some stuff about him the others didn't know. For one thing, he wasn't married…he wasn't gay or anything, he just never married, didn't have a family, kept to himself. He had one sister who lived near London I think. Ok, so nothing unusual so far…then one weekend, we were coming back from a hike, and I got the idea to stop near this little ghost town, by the Death Valley park entrance. A real neat place, where the old-time gold prospectors mined, you can still see where they lived, even their gear from the 1800s, still lying about. My dad used to take me to these places. That's real history there. I thought Dr. J would be into it.

Well, turned out he wasn't. At first he didn't say anything, but as we walked around these old buildings, he seemed to grow quite pale and seemed frightened almost. I thought it was a joke, and I said that because it was a "ghost" town it didn't mean there were really ghosts here, but it acted as if he there were…and it almost seemed like, he could see them. He wanted to go, so we left right away.

As soon as we got back, he brushed it off, saying it was just the heat, but later (over some drinks) he told me this strange story. About how when he was a kid, back in England, his parents had disappeared one night. Just disappeared in front of him and his sister. Right before their eyes."

"They were taken," he murmured, staring into his pint.

"I looked at him in surprise, wondering if he was drunk or trying to make a joke, but I knew he wasn't. "Like taken by aliens?"

"No. By Time."

He then told me how three visitors had come to the house, out of nowhere too. Two men and a woman. A very beautiful woman. They called themselves Lead and Steel and Sapphire. After the elements. They weren't quite aliens, either, but some kind of beings who could get their parents back for them…from whatever had taken them. And they had taken him too, and he had nearly been lost forever, to whatever it was. He told this in such detail that I felt like I could see it happen, and he told it like this had happened yesterday, although it must have been over 30 years ago.

"And…did you parents…ever come back?"

They did. The three mysterious people had brought his parents back. His parents remembered nothing, and neither did his sister, so she'd claimed. But he remembered, somehow. He remembered especially the woman, who called herself Sapphire, who was according to him tall and blonde and beautiful and gentle. He had never before, or after, had met such a beautiful woman like that. He said it was perhaps one reason he had never married. But I could have told him that was no big loss! Ha!

"Your sister," I pressed him. "What happened to her?"

"She was fine. As I said, she didn't remember anything at all. I tried once or twice to get her to remember, but she only laughed and said I must have had a wild dream. She's married now, has two kids of her own. Works out of her house. Quite happy I think, although we don't see each other that often. Doesn't remember a bit of it."

Drag, puff, cough.

"But who were they? What were they? You never learned?"

"Had something to do with Time. Old things could call them forth…creatures through Time, to take people. My father collected old clocks, my mother liked old nursery rhymes. They said that was why. It was very frightening. Steel and Lead were frightening a bit too, even though they helped us. Ever since then, I'm not a fan of…old things."

I realized something. "You're afraid, after all this time, you'll see them again."

"Jarrod, haven't you considered this project?"

"What?"

"This project!" Dr. J. turned on me, suddenly animated and angry. "What we're trying to do, with photon particles and all this nonsense, so that you can use it on some Pakistani rabble…it may do a lot more, you know!"

"I suddenly realized why he was so frightened. Not just because of the ghost town. But the project we were working on must have touched a nerve for him. The nature of our project had to do with time, you see. It's too complicated to describe. I'd need to unwrap a couple more tapes.

As it was, I didn't see him much after that. The project suddenly fizzled out, with no explanation given. Dr. J and I didn't go on any other trips, I think he was embarrassed at what he had said. Soon after, the project was canceled, and all the British staff went back to merry old England. I had Dr. J's email and send him a couple of messages, but no response. Then my divorce was a reality, and I was caught up with that. And then…our whole team was laid off, also no explanation given, other than the shitty economy, and all that bs. But I knew. They had taken our work and were developing it on a more "covert" basis. I was plenty pissed off and some of us thought about suing, but we all sold out…took a huge severance package for keeping out mouths shut. After my divorce I needed the money. Then I started playing online poker, and the story should have ended there, with me bust and broke. But once again…Caltech degree. I had some good wins, and unlike those other losers, I knew when to stop. I have plenty of money now, and no, if you're listening, bitch, you won't get a penny of it! I need the money for a project of my own. That's why I'm now out here, with a bunch of old things. You see, I have an idea in mind...

A month ago, I saw this little item the news. "Respected government physicist dead in mysterious accident." Thanks to the Internet, I learned that Dr. J had died in his home, in a remote part of England. Although he was totally healthy, he had suffered from a bizarre radiation poisoning, although he had never been exposed to any radioactive source and was in fact retired, and nearly a hermit. Very sad, and very suspicious, said all the conspiracy theorists on the Web (it was on a conspiracy web site I learned of the details – as I said I have a lot of free time). A picture of his sister was in the paper, looking very grieved, as might be expected. I did some searching, and got her address, sent a card, explaining who I was and was sorry for her loss, blah blah. She sent a response back. A lengthy, detailed, and very interesting response. Apparently, she had experienced something of a memory recall, and a bit more."

Jarrod reached into a drawer and pulled out an ashtry (itself a relic) and stubbed out his cigarette.

"So now, dear listener, if you are still with me, I have a new project. And plenty of time. And Time is what I am hoping for. You see, the company I used to work for has branched into solar. Very green, you'd think. Only, it's not really green. It's a cover for something else. Look it up on the conspiracy web sites if you want the details. All you need to know, is that _I_ know what they are up to. And I will add a twist of my own. You see, I want to see what Dr. J saw. I want to know what he knew. And more than that, dear listener, just maybe a bit of justice to add to the mix."

**Please review! This is the sequel to my previous stories "Insurgency" and "Irruption." Read those first!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A brisk wind blew across the sloping valley, surrounded on both sides by tall, snowcapped peaks. The yellow sun shone down upon the tall green grasses, which rose up to a sky almost painful in its blueness, as the land itself was equally dazzling in its natural mountainous beauty. It could be a scene taken from the earliest prehistory of Scandinavia.

Set down in the heart of this valley was a large farmhouse, more like a lodge, built in the contemporary Scandinavian style, no ramshackle ancient affair but a comfortable modern dwelling that would not look out of place in contemporary Sweden or Norway, or anyone familiar with the novels of Steig Larrson.

Yet this valley and this home were not in Scandinavia nor anywhere remotely close to anywhere on Earth, for a million million miles.

Standing in front of this home was a blond-haired man of rather serious mien, dressed in a three-piece, colorless grey suit that seemed to match with the chillness of the weather and his blue eyes. The farmhouse's upper-story contained an outside balcony; upon it was a tall and slender woman, beautiful in a timeless, classic way, clad in blue, her blonde hair ruffled by the wind. They both intently watched a third person, a young boy, who appeared no older than perhaps 7 or 8 at most. He was also as pale and as blond as they, and would not have looked out of place at Eton or some other English boarding school which made children to appear much older and serious than they were.

The boy's attention was not focused on the adults, but on a suspended ball of brilliant crystalline light, which bobbed a few feet above his head. He stared at it intensely, and the ball seemed to sway and bob according to the boy's ability to maintain his concentration. It seemed that if the focus disappeared, the ball might fly off into the blue sky altogether.

Steel watched his child's progress in the lesson carefully. Every last detail in his education had to be prepared for the maximum output. There was not guarantee that they had enough Time before the next assignment. He had ensured that the child was kept on a steady track of training and correction, ever since he and Sapphire had arrived at the Sanctuary.

This was something that had become a bit of an issue between himself and his partner. Steel was only mollified by knowing that Sapphire also shared his urgency, that the child be prepared as best as he could be.

"Concentrate!" Steel demanded. "Focus all your energy on the center of the sphere."

The child did not reply, but the ball of light seemed to slow its periodic bobbing and swaying, and remain relatively still.

"Good. Now...raise it to a distance of 10 meters above and to your left."

The ball pulsated, then - very slowly - began to move. The child's pale blue eyes followed its every moment. It began to bob again, up and down.

"Focus! You must try to focus your mental energy so that you can control a physical object!"

The boy's brows furrowed, as he tried to follow his father's instructions. Yet the ball of light did not cease its movements. On the balcony, Sapphire observed her son more closely than the practice ball.

"Harder!" Steel shouted. "You must concentrate harder!"

The boy's small hands clenched at his side, and his eyes narrowed even more. The ball began slowing, then gradually moved higher and away, but started pulsating, and its color started to change, grow darker. Steel watched it gravely. "Keep your concentration on it, now you must-"

There was another sound, a very faint tinkling sound, as if of wind chimes. The distraction was enough, however. The ball flew wildly away, and then popped like a balloon with a loud bang.

"You've lost it!" Steel exclaimed. "Never let distractions affect you! You must-"

"That's enough for now," Sapphire had left the balcony, crossed over to Steel and her son, but the boy wouldn't look at her. He stared down at the ground, seemingly in a mix of disappointment and resentment. "William...go into the house. We'll review your lesson shortly."

"Sapphire, we hardly have the time to waste-" Steel protested, but Sapphire laid a restraining hand on his arm as the boy ran into the house.

"You're pushing him too hard. You can see he's trying."

Steel was almost angry. "He has to try harder! While we have the time to practice. We do not have time for any other distractions," Steel looked around. "What was that infernal noise?"

"We have a visitor. Come, let's go in." Sapphire turned and followed the boy back towards the lodge. Steel, having some resentments himself, followed her a moment later.

Within, the lodge-house was warm and bright, and comfortably appointed as if it were the country residence of a wealthy, professional human family. It took Sapphire and Steel only a moment to see that William, as soon as he had run in, had gone back to his principle pastime, his video games, similar to what any privileged human child would own in the early 21st century, totally ignoring the guest standing in the living room, who turned to Sapphire and beamed.

"Ah, Sapphire! So wonderful to see you again, and looking as beautiful as always."

Sapphire reciprocated with a warm, inviting smile. "Silver! Yes, it has been too long." She stepped forward and clasped his hands, which he squeezed. She noticed how relaxed he seemed from the last time she had seen him, and how different. He was wearing a darker suit than his usual one, almost a charcoal gray, and of a much more elegant cut. His full ginger hair was cut a bit shorter, and swept back gallantly from his forehead. He looked like a man who had received a promotion, which in a way he had.

Steel's attitude, however, was something that had stayed the same. "Silver," he said as mildly as he could. "Is there an urgent reason for your unannounced visit?"

"Hello Steel, well, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything-"

"In fact you were-"

"But I did want to drop in, it's been such a while, just a bit of catching up, you know, old friends and all that." He beamed again at Sapphire.

Steel stiffened ever so slightly, which Silver of course noticed. "We don't have time for useless talk," he grumbled. "We have important tasks to complete."

"And that reminds me! How is your boy?"

"He's doing very well," Sapphire said. "William, come here and greet our guest."

"So, you've finally given him a name! 'William,' eh? Like the Prince of Wales!" Silver chuckled, and turned to the child, who had come obediently over, staring emotionlessly at Silver. "William, come say hello to your Uncle Silver!"

The child only looked at him. "I have a present for you," Silver made a show of hiding his hands behind his back, pausing dramatically, and then brought out a large teddy bear to present to him. "It's a common present for human children, his name is Teddy!"

William took it carefully, turned it over in his hands. He tugged on its head, and it popped off with a puff of fur and stuffing. William blinked, looked at Silver wordlessly again, then at Sapphire.

"William," Sapphire said.

The boy looked at Silver, blinked again, then took his bear, both the head and the body, to the couch. He picked up the video game controller and his attention was diverted again.

"Hmm...fascinating child...does he, um, talk at all?" Silver wondered.

Sapphire shook her head thoughtfully. "He's never spoken."

"Doesn't this worry you?"

Steel dismissed his concerns. "He understands us. That's what matters. He's not a child to be wasting his time playing with toys and useless games."

Silver quickly glanced at Sapphire, noted the look in her eyes. "No," Silver agreed. "No, he's not. He's not a human child, of course, he's something else altogether, I'm well aware of that. However, I do suppose that it raises certain questions," Silver looked pointedly at Steel. "If you had been present at the council meeting, you could have heard some of them for yourself."

"So that's why you are here?" Steel crossed over to the couch and TV, firmly took the game away from the boy, who stared up at him in dismay. "William, go to your room now."

With obvious unhappiness, the boy took the two parts of his bear and did so, climbing up the stairs to the upper level of the house. Steel glared at Silver. "Sapphire and I don't have time for your 'council's' useless talk. We have extremely important tasks to complete, if we are going to face the Transients and their masters again."

"And when we do, isn't t best to face them as a united front, don't you think?" Silver realized he had to make Steel understand that he was not fighting this war all by himself. "You can't do that by yourself, or with Sapphire alone. Or with your boy William...by the way, the others want to meet him, you know."

Sapphire crossed her arms, and looked uncomfortable. "That...might not be safe."

"For who? You know they would never harm the boy."

"I meant for them," Sapphire replied. "William is used to you, but to the others? Remember when you saw him for the first time? He almost attacked you. That's why he has to be trained first."

"You agree with Steel on this?" Silver was startled.

"We are in _complete_ agreement," Steel emphasized. "And we would appreciate it if we could be left alone to get on with our training!"

Silver sighed. This new job was much more difficult than he'd realized. "You can't hide out here forever. You'll have to come out eventually," he looked at both of them pointedly. "Or they will come here."

Steel was silent for a moment. "Just...give us some time, Silver. William is not ready yet."

"How will you know when he is?"

"How will we know if any of us are ready," Sapphire murmured, rubbing her arms. "There are so few of us left."

"Sapphire," Silver tried to reassure her. "We may be few, but we are still here, and that is why we must stick together."

"I know Silver," Steel said. "Please...we just need the time."

"Time is something we may not have much of," Silver said ominously. "There are reports that the Transients are active and on the move. Not far from where we last encountered them. Many of them. It could be another offensive. If it is-"

Steel nodded slowly. "We'll be ready."

"I hope so," Silver paused and pointed at Steel. "You know, Steel, I didn't approve of this plan of yours from the beginning, but, well, now that's in the past, and I've seen what William is capable of. The others haven't. You may have to convince them. I will do my best to convince them that what you did may be our salvation."

"Or?"

"Or...I will have no choice but to expel you from the Sanctuary."

"Silver!" Sapphire stared at him. "You wouldn't!"

"Sapphire, I will have no other choice! I don't want to do it, but the others are afraid. They are even talking of making peace with the Transients."

Steel clenched his fists. "That is foolishness. You may expel me, but Sapphire stays here."

"No!" Sapphire pleaded with Silver. "There must be a way you can prevent this!"

Silver shook his head grimly. "There is only one way. We triumph against the Transients. And if it comes to that...well...I'll be there with you too."

Steel considered this. "Silver. Find out where you think the Transients will strike again. We can pre-empt them perhaps. If we can show the others that there's still a chance...?"

"I'll do what I can. Silicon and Salt want to fight on...I will get back to you. Just see...what you can do with the boy. I'll be back as soon as you tell me you are ready."

Steel nodded. "Thank you, Silver."

Silver turned to Sapphire, but she wouldnt' look at him. He was distressed that he had upset her but he could do nothing about it. "Sapphire," he squeezed her shoulder, and departed.


End file.
